Becker's ASC Review

11 EXECUTIVE BRIEFING The patient's arms can be tucked, using comfortable, high-quality foam straps that protect the ulnar nerve while maintaining open access to lines and leads, providing consistent and reproducible arm positioning. The dynamic BoneFoam Y strap is laid over the patient and secured to the base component to provide symmetric depression of the shoulder girdle. This allows the surgeon and staff to apply intermittent and sustained symmetric traction to achieve better visualization of anatomical landmarks. "With tape, the patient is almost always in a constant or permanent traction position, which for a long procedure can be problematic," explained Clint McCullough, director of clinical sales, BoneFoam. "With Nextend, it allows a surgeon or staff to use traction intermittently. It's all based on the surgeon and staff preference. Nextend provides surgeons with options and flexibility." Nextend allows traction to be applied only when needed for imaging, rather than maintaining fixed shoulder taping throughout the case. It may help reduce prolonged shoulder distraction and positioning-related stress on the brachial plexus, a mechanism described in anterior cervical spine surgery, while potentially minimizing postoperative shoulder or interscapular discomfort reported after ACDF. By improving shoulder depression and cervical alignment, Nextend can enhance visualization of the lower cervical spine, which is particularly important for patients with higher BMI, while reducing positioning-related risks for patients. This standardized positioning process for ACDFs provides greater consistency, better visualization and improved patient safety. "Nextend is a lot easier to use, a lot more consistent and when you have those things together, it makes a huge difference," Dr. Kim said. Improved efficiency for ASCs As more ACDF procedures are migrating to ASCs, both surgeons and ASC administrators are focused on efficiency and throughput, driven by a general mindset of "every minute matters." Previously, positioning for ACDF procedures was slow and inconsistent, taking valuable OR time to position each unique patient. The Nextend system — particularly BoneFoam's Nextend Lite — was designed with ASCs in mind, with greater standardization, consistency and efficiency. Nextend Lite provides all of the patient positioning benefits of the Nextend system — including the positioner, headrest and Y straps — but is leaner, easier to store and less expensive. "It allows ASCs that might have less resources the same ability to position patients efficiently and to eliminate the other time-consuming methods that they may have used in the past," Mr. McCullough said. Adopting new patient positioning methods Today, many surgeons and teams performing ACDF procedures are continuing to position patients the same way they have done for years. "It's not that people are doing things wrong," observed Mr. McCullough. "But we know there is a better way." Dr. Kim stressed that any significant change in the processes and techniques used for patient positioning needs to be surgeon-driven, because otherwise, team members will be resistant to change. "Surgeons need to recognize that there is a new way to do something better," Dr. Kim said. After education and experience, with repetition, Dr. Kim anticipates that surgeons and teams will become much more consistent and efficient. "There's a better way for patients, a better way for hospitals and ASCs and a better way for surgeons," Mr. McCullough noted. Typically, once surgeons learn about the Nextend System and get initial experience with this new patient- positioning method, they immediately see the benefits and don't want to go back to their previous ways of positioning. As the field of spine surgery continues to see incredible innovations and advances, in areas such as AI, robotics and materials technologies, a relatively simple innovation can make a tremendous difference, improving the consistency, safety and efficiency of patient positioning. Just as BoneFoam tools have become the industry standard in ortho trauma, Mr. Cole envisions a similar trajectory in spinal surgery. "There will soon be a day when every spine surgery is not reliant on MacGyver methods," Mr. Cole said. "The transition away from improvised positioning toward standardized, system-based approaches is already in motion and will soon become an expected standard of the modern spine procedure." About BoneFoam, Inc. BoneFoam is a medical-device company focused on patient positioning solutions for a wide array of surgical, clinical and rehabilitation needs. BoneFoam serves over 7,500 hospitals and ASCs globally with innovative, high-quality solutions that optimize safety and efficiency while enhancing positioning techniques in Orthopedic Trauma, Spine, Arthroplasty, Anesthesia, Rehabilitation and OB/GYN.

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